https://www.wikicu.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=NotsvenWikiCU - User contributions [en]2026-04-08T15:43:34ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.31.8https://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=User_talk:74.77.69.168&diff=26173User talk:74.77.69.1682008-06-13T12:13:50Z<p>Notsven: New page: <videoflash>dQ99ScGdQv0</videoflash> {{vandal}}</p>
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<div><videoflash>dQ99ScGdQv0</videoflash><br />
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{{vandal}}</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Harvard_University&diff=26172Harvard University2008-06-13T12:13:10Z<p>Notsven: reverting edits by blatant harvard douchebag</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Columbiaharvard.jpg|thumb|Early [[football]] game between Columbia and Harvard. Characteristically, Harvard is winning.]]<br />
<br />
'''Harvard University''' (also known as '''The Kremlin on the Charles''') is a mediocre university in a dull Boston suburb that was preemptively set up to accommodate students who don't get into Columbia.<br />
<br />
[[Barack Obama|Some Columbia alumni]] [[Barack Obama|who attend Harvard graduate schools]] [[Barack Obama|occasionally neglect to mention their undergraduate alma mater]].<br />
<br />
==Know Thy Safety==<br />
<br />
Like Columbia, Harvard is actually a vast domain divided into an infinitude of fiefdoms. Columbia-trained anthropologists have investigated the following Harvard tribes:<br />
<br />
===Harvard College===<br />
<br />
[[Image:Harvardlibrary.jpg|thumb|Harvard's actual undergraduate library: architecture to inspire the intellectual achievement of a suburb near you]]<br />
<br />
A repository for those unfortunate enough not to have been given the thumbs-up by [[Columbia College]]'s enlightened admissions office. [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=514692 Sex-starved] and [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050113-0500-life-harvard.html fun-deprived], Harvard undergraduates are often desperate for recognition, leading to reprehensible acts of [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512948 intellectual property theft] perpetrated against creative Columbia students and alumni. <br />
<br />
Given this state, it is not uncommon for recent Harvard graduates to infest New York shortly after receiving their [http://harvardmagazine.com/2001/07/the-ba-diploma-from-a-to.html low-grade English language diplomas]. Harvard graduates then typically engage in insignificant careers as late night talk show writers, when not bloating the waitlists of Columbia grad schools. <br />
<br />
===Radcliffe College===<br />
<br />
Radcliffe was once Harvard's [[Barnard]]. It was forced to completely dissolve in the 1990s, when Harvard decided it hated the idea of women doing anything independently.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Harvardgraduation.jpg|thumb|left|Swelling with pride, newly-minted Harvard graduates hoist the university colors during their commencement ceremony]]<br />
<br />
===Harvard Business School===<br />
<br />
A factory for the production of [[w:Mitt Romney|slick tools]] and [[w:Boston Consulting Group|powerful]] [[w:McKinsey & Co.|consulting]] [[w:Bain & Co.|outfits]], Harvard Business School has its own, predictably country-club-like campus across the Charles River from the rest of Harvard, because apparently even [[w:Alan Dershowitz|Alan Dershowitz]] was too left-wing for them to be around.<br />
<br />
===Kennedy School of Government===<br />
<br />
Named for [[w:John F. Kennedy|one of Harvard's most famous (and most accidental) alumni]] (who only transferred from [[Princeton]] when a health scare forced him to stay closer to home), the K-School primarily educates hippie freak activists and foreign trust-fund babies (in addition to [[Bill O'Reilly]]) in the art of becoming languishing members of the current opposition party - a state [[w:David Gergen|most K-School faculty]] are all too familiar with. <br />
<br />
[[Image:Hlsstudent.jpg|thumb|A Harvard Law student relaxes after class]]<br />
<br />
===Harvard Law School===<br />
<br />
From the [[w:Eliot Spitzer|scandal-scalded]] to the [[w:Samantha Power|gaffe-gifted]], there is no powerful person screwing up the world that Harvard Law School has not educated. Known for its [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dcwC6exIWY punishing, psychologically-ruinous regime of torturous Foucauldian discipline], it is undoubtedly Harvard's most sinister organ.<br />
<br />
===Harvard Divinity School===<br />
<br />
Basically a monastery. Columbia does not have one for good reason.<br />
<br />
== Harvard/Yale rivalry ==<br />
<br />
Like many lesser institutions of learning, Harvard maintains a petty rivalry with [[Yale]], as evidenced in the following video:<br />
<br />
<videoflash>dQ99ScGdQv0</videoflash><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* http://www.harvard.edu/<br />
<br />
[[Category:Universities]]<br />
[[Category:Safety school]]</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Housing_SSN_security_breach&diff=26166Housing SSN security breach2008-06-13T08:33:44Z<p>Notsven: </p>
<hr />
<div>The '''housing SSN security breach''' emerged in June 2008.<br />
<br />
According to Scott Wright, Columbia's Vice President for Student Auxiliary & Business Services, a "former student employee" inadvertently posted a file on the internet in February 2007 that contained the names and SSNs of over 5,000 students. The file in question seems to have been an Excel spreadsheet called "Beds_Roster_0607.xls", which seems to have been posted at "http://cu-super-hw2.googlecode.com/files/output.xls". The spreadsheet has since been taken down, along with the rest of the "cu-super-hw2" website. However, various parts of the website remain online in the caches of search engines, including MSN.<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73381023649685&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=8006b6d6,9ed441b4&FORM=CVRE9</ref><ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73424566345560&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=ea9b6e99,e55de10f&FORM=CVRE</ref><br />
<br />
These cached pages indicate that the website counted at least 4 people among its contributors, one of whom was Sven Hafemeister. According to one of the cached pages, Hafemeister uploaded a file called "output.xls", which has led many people to accuse him of being the "former student employee" at guilt. It seems that Hafemeister used the spreadsheet with student data to complete a homework for CS4733 Computational Aspects of Robotics. Hafemeister has since graduated, but while at Columbia he was a SEAS comp sci major and student athlete<ref>http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=43592&SPID=3876&DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=612091&Q_SEASON=2006</ref>. He recently took down his [[Facebook]] page.<br />
<br />
Student Services discovered this breach of confidentiality on 3 June 2008. They notified Google, who removed the offending file from the Google Code website. On 10 June 2008, they emailed all 5,000 students who were affected from an alias called "studentservices-assist@columbia.edu". Some students were offered two years of "Identity Guard CreditProtectX3SM" credit monitoring, while others were not - it is unclear why all students were not offered the credit monitoring. According to comments on Bwog, students who received these emails and subsequently searched for their names and SSNs on Google were still able to find the spreadsheet. It seems this was because Columbia did not also ask Google to remove the file from its cache. One student has created a petition to protest Columbia's incompetence.<ref>http://www.petitiononline.com/breach/</ref><br />
<br />
A similar (though less widespread) SSN scandal happened just over a year ago in April 2007.<br />
<br />
== Email that offers credit monitoring ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University's Housing and Dining department was<br />
informed that one archival database file containing the housing<br />
information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate<br />
students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file,<br />
at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security<br />
breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in<br />
question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It<br />
appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student<br />
employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be<br />
aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file.<br />
We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you.<br />
Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect<br />
Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing &<br />
Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room<br />
selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008,<br />
Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage<br />
and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which<br />
also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was<br />
uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As an additional precaution, Columbia has arranged for you to receive a<br />
free two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Identity Guard<br />
CreditProtectX3SM. This service will provide you with a copy of your<br />
credit report, monitor your credit files at all three major credit bureaus<br />
(Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) and notify you of certain suspicious<br />
activities that could indicate identity theft. You will receive additional<br />
information about enrolling in this service in the next week.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you do not wish to enroll in this service, you may still choose to<br />
activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically<br />
request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure<br />
that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an<br />
automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency<br />
you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also<br />
can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will<br />
provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact<br />
information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax - (800) 525-6285 - www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian - (888) 397-3742 - www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union - (800) 680-7289 - www.transunion.com<br/><br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please<br />
know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are<br />
confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have<br />
made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling<br />
1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br />
(mailto:studentservices-assist@columbia.edu).<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== Alternative email that doesn't offer credit monitoring ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University’s Housing and Dining department was informed that one archival database file containing the housing information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file, at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file. We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you. Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing & Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008, Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As a precaution, we recommend you activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax – (800) 525-6285 – www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian – (888) 397-3742 – www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union – (800) 680-7289 – www.transunion.com<br/> <br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling 1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu .<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/hilarious_housing_dining_social_security_number_mishap Bwog: Hilarious Housing & Dining Social Security Number Mishap]<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/ssn_snafu_protests_go_digital Bwog: SSNafu Protests Go Digital]<br />
* [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/55185 Spectator: 5000 Students Informed of Online Security Breach]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scandals]]</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Housing_SSN_security_breach&diff=26165Housing SSN security breach2008-06-13T08:32:45Z<p>Notsven: </p>
<hr />
<div>The '''housing SSN scandal''' emerged in June 2008.<br />
<br />
According to Scott Wright, Columbia's Vice President for Student Auxiliary & Business Services, a "former student employee" inadvertently posted a file on the internet in February 2007 that contained the names and SSNs of over 5,000 students. The file in question seems to have been an Excel spreadsheet called "Beds_Roster_0607.xls", which seems to have been posted at "http://cu-super-hw2.googlecode.com/files/output.xls". The spreadsheet has since been taken down, along with the rest of the "cu-super-hw2" website. However, various parts of the website remain online in the caches of search engines, including MSN.<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73381023649685&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=8006b6d6,9ed441b4&FORM=CVRE9</ref><ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73424566345560&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=ea9b6e99,e55de10f&FORM=CVRE</ref><br />
<br />
These cached pages indicate that the website counted at least 4 people among its contributors, one of whom was Sven Hafemeister. According to one of the cached pages, Hafemeister uploaded a file called "output.xls", which has led many people to accuse him of being the "former student employee" at guilt. It seems that Hafemeister used the spreadsheet with student data to complete a homework for CS4733 Computational Aspects of Robotics. Hafemeister has since graduated, but while at Columbia he was a SEAS comp sci major and student athlete<ref>http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=43592&SPID=3876&DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=612091&Q_SEASON=2006</ref>. He recently took down his [[Facebook]] page.<br />
<br />
Student Services discovered this breach of confidentiality on 3 June 2008. They notified Google, who removed the offending file from the Google Code website. On 10 June 2008, they emailed all 5,000 students who were affected from an alias called "studentservices-assist@columbia.edu". Some students were offered two years of "Identity Guard CreditProtectX3SM" credit monitoring, while others were not - it is unclear why all students were not offered the credit monitoring. According to comments on Bwog, students who received these emails and subsequently searched for their names and SSNs on Google were still able to find the spreadsheet. It seems this was because Columbia did not also ask Google to remove the file from its cache. One student has created a petition to protest Columbia's incompetence.<ref>http://www.petitiononline.com/breach/</ref><br />
<br />
A similar (though less widespread) SSN scandal happened just over a year ago in April 2007.<br />
<br />
== Email that offers credit monitoring ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University's Housing and Dining department was<br />
informed that one archival database file containing the housing<br />
information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate<br />
students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file,<br />
at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security<br />
breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in<br />
question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It<br />
appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student<br />
employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be<br />
aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file.<br />
We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you.<br />
Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect<br />
Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing &<br />
Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room<br />
selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008,<br />
Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage<br />
and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which<br />
also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was<br />
uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As an additional precaution, Columbia has arranged for you to receive a<br />
free two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Identity Guard<br />
CreditProtectX3SM. This service will provide you with a copy of your<br />
credit report, monitor your credit files at all three major credit bureaus<br />
(Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) and notify you of certain suspicious<br />
activities that could indicate identity theft. You will receive additional<br />
information about enrolling in this service in the next week.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you do not wish to enroll in this service, you may still choose to<br />
activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically<br />
request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure<br />
that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an<br />
automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency<br />
you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also<br />
can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will<br />
provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact<br />
information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax - (800) 525-6285 - www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian - (888) 397-3742 - www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union - (800) 680-7289 - www.transunion.com<br/><br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please<br />
know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are<br />
confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have<br />
made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling<br />
1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br />
(mailto:studentservices-assist@columbia.edu).<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== Alternative email that doesn't offer credit monitoring ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University’s Housing and Dining department was informed that one archival database file containing the housing information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file, at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file. We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you. Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing & Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008, Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As a precaution, we recommend you activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax – (800) 525-6285 – www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian – (888) 397-3742 – www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union – (800) 680-7289 – www.transunion.com<br/> <br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling 1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu .<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/hilarious_housing_dining_social_security_number_mishap Bwog: Hilarious Housing & Dining Social Security Number Mishap]<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/ssn_snafu_protests_go_digital Bwog: SSNafu Protests Go Digital]<br />
* [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/55185 Spectator: 5000 Students Informed of Online Security Breach]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scandals]]</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Housing_SSN_scandal&diff=26164Housing SSN scandal2008-06-13T08:28:21Z<p>Notsven: Housing SSN scandal moved to Housing SSN security breach</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[Housing SSN security breach]]</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Housing_SSN_security_breach&diff=26163Housing SSN security breach2008-06-13T08:28:20Z<p>Notsven: Housing SSN scandal moved to Housing SSN security breach</p>
<hr />
<div>The '''housing SSN scandal''' emerged in June 2008.<br />
<br />
According to Scott Wright, Columbia's Vice President for Student Auxiliary & Business Services, a "former student employee" inadvertently posted a file on the internet in February 2007 that contained the names and SSNs of over 5,000 students. The file in question seems to have been an Excel spreadsheet called "Beds_Roster_0607.xls", which seems to have been posted at "http://cu-super-hw2.googlecode.com/files/output.xls". The spreadsheet has since been taken down, along with the rest of the "cu-super-hw2" website. However, various parts of the website remain online in the caches of search engines, including MSN.<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73381023649685&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=8006b6d6,9ed441b4&FORM=CVRE9</ref><ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73424566345560&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=ea9b6e99,e55de10f&FORM=CVRE</ref><br />
<br />
These cached pages indicate that the website counted at least 4 people among its contributors, one of whom was Sven Hafemeister. According to one of the cached pages, Hafemeister uploaded a file called "output.xls", which has led many people to accuse him of being the "former student employee" at guilt. It seems that Hafemeister used the spreadsheet with student data to complete a homework for CS4733 Computational Aspects of Robotics. Hafemeister has since graduated, but while at Columbia he was a SEAS comp sci major and student athlete<ref>http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=43592&SPID=3876&DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=612091&Q_SEASON=2006</ref>. He recently took down his [[Facebook]] page.<br />
<br />
Student Services discovered this breach of confidentiality on 3 June 2008. They notified Google, who removed the offending file from the Google Code website. On 10 June 2008, they emailed all 5,000 students who were affected from an alias called "studentservices-assist@columbia.edu". Some students were offered two years of "Identity Guard CreditProtectX3SM" credit monitoring, while others were not - it is unclear why all students were not offered the credit monitoring. According to comments on Bwog, students who received these emails and subsequently searched for their names and SSNs on Google were still able to find the spreadsheet along with the names and SSNs of all the other students involved. It seems this was because Columbia did not also ask Google to remove the file from its cache.<br />
<br />
A similar (though less widespread) SSN scandal happened just over a year ago in April 2007.<br />
<br />
== Email offering credit monitoring ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University's Housing and Dining department was<br />
informed that one archival database file containing the housing<br />
information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate<br />
students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file,<br />
at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security<br />
breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in<br />
question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It<br />
appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student<br />
employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be<br />
aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file.<br />
We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you.<br />
Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect<br />
Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing &<br />
Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room<br />
selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008,<br />
Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage<br />
and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which<br />
also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was<br />
uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As an additional precaution, Columbia has arranged for you to receive a<br />
free two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Identity Guard<br />
CreditProtectX3SM. This service will provide you with a copy of your<br />
credit report, monitor your credit files at all three major credit bureaus<br />
(Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) and notify you of certain suspicious<br />
activities that could indicate identity theft. You will receive additional<br />
information about enrolling in this service in the next week.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you do not wish to enroll in this service, you may still choose to<br />
activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically<br />
request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure<br />
that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an<br />
automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency<br />
you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also<br />
can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will<br />
provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact<br />
information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax - (800) 525-6285 - www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian - (888) 397-3742 - www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union - (800) 680-7289 - www.transunion.com<br/><br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please<br />
know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are<br />
confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have<br />
made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling<br />
1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br />
(mailto:studentservices-assist@columbia.edu).<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== Alternative email ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University’s Housing and Dining department was informed that one archival database file containing the housing information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file, at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file. We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you. Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing & Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008, Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As a precaution, we recommend you activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax – (800) 525-6285 – www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian – (888) 397-3742 – www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union – (800) 680-7289 – www.transunion.com<br/> <br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling 1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu .<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/hilarious_housing_dining_social_security_number_mishap Bwog: Hilarious Housing & Dining Social Security Number Mishap]<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/ssn_snafu_protests_go_digital Bwog: SSNafu Protests Go Digital]<br />
* [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/55185 Spectator: 5000 Students Informed of Online Security Breach]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scandals]]</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Housing_SSN_security_breach&diff=26162Housing SSN security breach2008-06-13T08:21:41Z<p>Notsven: </p>
<hr />
<div>The '''housing SSN scandal''' emerged in June 2008.<br />
<br />
According to Scott Wright, Columbia's Vice President for Student Auxiliary & Business Services, a "former student employee" inadvertently posted a file on the internet in February 2007 that contained the names and SSNs of over 5,000 students. The file in question seems to have been an Excel spreadsheet called "Beds_Roster_0607.xls", which seems to have been posted at "http://cu-super-hw2.googlecode.com/files/output.xls". The spreadsheet has since been taken down, along with the rest of the "cu-super-hw2" website. However, various parts of the website remain online in the caches of search engines, including MSN.<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73381023649685&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=8006b6d6,9ed441b4&FORM=CVRE9</ref><ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73424566345560&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=ea9b6e99,e55de10f&FORM=CVRE</ref><br />
<br />
These cached pages indicate that the website counted at least 4 people among its contributors, one of whom was Sven Hafemeister. According to one of the cached pages, Hafemeister uploaded a file called "output.xls", which has led many people to accuse him of being the "former student employee" at guilt. It seems that Hafemeister used the spreadsheet with student data to complete a homework for CS4733 Computational Aspects of Robotics. Hafemeister has since graduated, but while at Columbia he was a SEAS comp sci major and student athlete<ref>http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=43592&SPID=3876&DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=612091&Q_SEASON=2006</ref>. He recently took down his [[Facebook]] page.<br />
<br />
Student Services discovered this breach of confidentiality on 3 June 2008. They notified Google, who removed the offending file from the Google Code website. On 10 June 2008, they emailed all 5,000 students who were affected from an alias called "studentservices-assist@columbia.edu". Some students were offered two years of "Identity Guard CreditProtectX3SM" credit monitoring, while others were not - it is unclear why all students were not offered the credit monitoring. According to comments on Bwog, students who received these emails and subsequently searched for their names and SSNs on Google were still able to find the spreadsheet along with the names and SSNs of all the other students involved. It seems this was because Columbia did not also ask Google to remove the file from its cache.<br />
<br />
A similar (though less widespread) SSN scandal happened just over a year ago in April 2007.<br />
<br />
== Email offering credit monitoring ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University's Housing and Dining department was<br />
informed that one archival database file containing the housing<br />
information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate<br />
students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file,<br />
at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security<br />
breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in<br />
question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It<br />
appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student<br />
employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be<br />
aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file.<br />
We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you.<br />
Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect<br />
Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing &<br />
Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room<br />
selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008,<br />
Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage<br />
and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which<br />
also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was<br />
uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As an additional precaution, Columbia has arranged for you to receive a<br />
free two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Identity Guard<br />
CreditProtectX3SM. This service will provide you with a copy of your<br />
credit report, monitor your credit files at all three major credit bureaus<br />
(Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) and notify you of certain suspicious<br />
activities that could indicate identity theft. You will receive additional<br />
information about enrolling in this service in the next week.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you do not wish to enroll in this service, you may still choose to<br />
activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically<br />
request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure<br />
that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an<br />
automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency<br />
you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also<br />
can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will<br />
provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact<br />
information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax - (800) 525-6285 - www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian - (888) 397-3742 - www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union - (800) 680-7289 - www.transunion.com<br/><br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please<br />
know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are<br />
confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have<br />
made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling<br />
1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br />
(mailto:studentservices-assist@columbia.edu).<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== Alternative email ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University’s Housing and Dining department was informed that one archival database file containing the housing information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file, at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file. We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you. Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing & Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008, Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As a precaution, we recommend you activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax – (800) 525-6285 – www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian – (888) 397-3742 – www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union – (800) 680-7289 – www.transunion.com<br/> <br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling 1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu .<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/hilarious_housing_dining_social_security_number_mishap Bwog: Hilarious Housing & Dining Social Security Number Mishap]<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/ssn_snafu_protests_go_digital Bwog: SSNafu Protests Go Digital]<br />
* [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/55185 Spectator: 5000 Students Informed of Online Security Breach]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scandals]]</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Housing_SSN_security_breach&diff=26161Housing SSN security breach2008-06-13T08:10:52Z<p>Notsven: </p>
<hr />
<div>The '''housing SSN scandal''' emerged in June 2008.<br />
<br />
According to Scott Wright, Columbia's Vice President for Student Auxiliary & Business Services, a "former student employee" inadvertently posted a file on the internet in February 2007 that contained the names and SSNs of over 5,000 students. The file in question seems to have been an Excel spreadsheet called "Beds_Roster_0607.xls", which seems to have been posted at "http://cu-super-hw2.googlecode.com/files/output.xls". The spreadsheet has since been taken down, along with the rest of the "cu-super-hw2" website. However, various parts of the website remain online in the caches of search engines, including MSN.<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73381023649685&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=8006b6d6,9ed441b4&FORM=CVRE9</ref><ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=73424566345560&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=ea9b6e99,e55de10f&FORM=CVRE</ref><br />
<br />
These cached pages indicate that the website counted at least 4 people among its contributors, one of whom was Sven Hafemeister. Hafemeister is listed as the person who uploaded a file called "output.xls", which has led many people to accuse him of being the "former student employee" in question. It seems that Hafemeister used the spreadsheet with student data to complete a homework for CS4733 Computational Aspects of Robotics. Hafemeister has since graduated, but while at Columbia he was a SEAS comp sci major and student athlete<ref>http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=43592&SPID=3876&DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=612091&Q_SEASON=2006</ref>. He recently took down his [[Facebook]] page.<br />
<br />
Student Services discovered this breach of confidentiality on 3 June 2008. On 10 June and 11 June 2008, over 5,000 students were sent emails informing them of this confidentiality breach. Some students were offered two years of "Identity Guard CreditProtectX3SM" credit monitoring. Other students were not offered any such service.<br />
<br />
== Email offering credit monitoring ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University's Housing and Dining department was<br />
informed that one archival database file containing the housing<br />
information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate<br />
students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file,<br />
at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security<br />
breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in<br />
question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It<br />
appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student<br />
employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be<br />
aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file.<br />
We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you.<br />
Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect<br />
Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing &<br />
Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room<br />
selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008,<br />
Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage<br />
and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which<br />
also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was<br />
uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As an additional precaution, Columbia has arranged for you to receive a<br />
free two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Identity Guard<br />
CreditProtectX3SM. This service will provide you with a copy of your<br />
credit report, monitor your credit files at all three major credit bureaus<br />
(Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) and notify you of certain suspicious<br />
activities that could indicate identity theft. You will receive additional<br />
information about enrolling in this service in the next week.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you do not wish to enroll in this service, you may still choose to<br />
activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically<br />
request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure<br />
that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an<br />
automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency<br />
you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also<br />
can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will<br />
provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact<br />
information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax - (800) 525-6285 - www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian - (888) 397-3742 - www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union - (800) 680-7289 - www.transunion.com<br/><br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please<br />
know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are<br />
confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have<br />
made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling<br />
1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br />
(mailto:studentservices-assist@columbia.edu).<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== Alternative email ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 11 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University’s Housing and Dining department was informed that one archival database file containing the housing information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file, at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file. We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you. Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing & Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008, Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As a precaution, we recommend you activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax – (800) 525-6285 – www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian – (888) 397-3742 – www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union – (800) 680-7289 – www.transunion.com<br/> <br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling 1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu .<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/hilarious_housing_dining_social_security_number_mishap Bwog: Hilarious Housing & Dining Social Security Number Mishap]<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/ssn_snafu_protests_go_digital Bwog: SSNafu Protests Go Digital]<br />
* [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/55185 Spectator: 5000 Students Informed of Online Security Breach]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scandals]]</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Housing_SSN_security_breach&diff=26160Housing SSN security breach2008-06-13T07:45:03Z<p>Notsven: </p>
<hr />
<div>The '''housing SSN scandal''' took place in June 2008, when it emerged that a spreadsheet containing the SSNs of over 5,000 had been publicly available on the internet for 16 months since February 2007.<br />
<br />
The Excel spreadsheet had been posted to a website called "Google Code" by a student [[Housing Services]] employee.<br />
<br />
The spreadsheet was apparently created by Sven Hafemeister as a homework for CS4733 Computational Aspects of Robotics. Hafemeister was a SEAS comp sci major and student athlete<ref>http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=43592&SPID=3876&DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=612091&Q_SEASON=2006</ref> who has since graduated. He recently took down his [[Facebook]] page.<br />
<br />
On 10 June and 11 June 2008, over 5,000 students were sent emails informing them of this confidentiality breach. Some students were offered two years of "Identity Guard CreditProtectX3SM" credit monitoring. Other students were not offered any such service.<br />
<br />
== Email offering credit monitoring ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 10 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University's Housing and Dining department was<br />
informed that one archival database file containing the housing<br />
information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate<br />
students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file,<br />
at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security<br />
breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in<br />
question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It<br />
appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student<br />
employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be<br />
aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file.<br />
We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you.<br />
Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect<br />
Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing &<br />
Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room<br />
selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008,<br />
Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage<br />
and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which<br />
also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was<br />
uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As an additional precaution, Columbia has arranged for you to receive a<br />
free two-year subscription to a credit monitoring service, Identity Guard<br />
CreditProtectX3SM. This service will provide you with a copy of your<br />
credit report, monitor your credit files at all three major credit bureaus<br />
(Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) and notify you of certain suspicious<br />
activities that could indicate identity theft. You will receive additional<br />
information about enrolling in this service in the next week.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you do not wish to enroll in this service, you may still choose to<br />
activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically<br />
request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure<br />
that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an<br />
automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency<br />
you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also<br />
can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will<br />
provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact<br />
information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax - (800) 525-6285 - www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian - (888) 397-3742 - www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union - (800) 680-7289 - www.transunion.com<br/><br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please<br />
know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are<br />
confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have<br />
made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling<br />
1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br />
(mailto:studentservices-assist@columbia.edu).<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== Alternative email ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 11 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University’s Housing and Dining department was informed that one archival database file containing the housing information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file, at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file. We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you. Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing & Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008, Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As a precaution, we recommend you activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax – (800) 525-6285 – www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian – (888) 397-3742 – www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union – (800) 680-7289 – www.transunion.com<br/> <br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling 1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu .<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/hilarious_housing_dining_social_security_number_mishap Bwog: Hilarious Housing & Dining Social Security Number Mishap]<br />
* [http://www.bwog.net/articles/ssn_snafu_protests_go_digital Bwog: SSNafu Protests Go Digital]<br />
* [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/55185 Spectator: 5000 Students Informed of Online Security Breach]<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scandals]]</div>Notsvenhttps://www.wikicu.com/index.php?title=Housing_SSN_security_breach&diff=26159Housing SSN security breach2008-06-13T07:31:36Z<p>Notsven: New page: The '''housing SSN scandal''' took place in June 2008, when it emerged that a student Housing Services employee had posted a spreadsheet of student SSNs online in February 2007. Over ...</p>
<hr />
<div>The '''housing SSN scandal''' took place in June 2008, when it emerged that a student [[Housing Services]] employee had posted a spreadsheet of student SSNs online in February 2007.<br />
<br />
Over 5,000 students were sent emails informing them of this confidentiality breach. Some students were offered 2 years of credit monitoring, others were not.<br />
<br />
== Email offering credit monitoring ==<br />
(please post)<br />
<br />
== Alternative email ==<br />
<blockquote><br />
From: studentservices-assist@columbia.edu<br/><br />
Mailed by: piglet.college.columbia.edu<br/><br />
Date: 11 June 2008<br/><br />
Subject: Important Security Information<br/><br />
<br/><br />
On June 3, Columbia University’s Housing and Dining department was informed that one archival database file containing the housing information of approximately 5,000 current and former undergraduate students was found on a Google-hosted website. Google removed this file, at our request, that same day.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Columbia Public Safety investigators have concluded that this security breach was unintentional. No financial data was included in the file in question, and we have no evidence of wrongdoing or identity theft. It appears that the file was inadvertently posted by a former student employee in February 2007. Nevertheless, it is important for you to be aware that your name and Social Security Number were included in the file. We are very sorry for this occurrence.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Information security is a serious issue for us, as we know it is for you. Columbia University is continually strengthening its measures to protect Social Security Numbers where they are required in our systems. Housing & Dining manually eliminated Social Security Numbers from its online room selection process and contracts in April 2007. Further, in spring 2008, Columbia Housing and Dining implemented a new software system to manage and improve the housing assignment, contract, and billing processes which also does not use Social Security Numbers. Unfortunately, this file was uploaded prior to when these changes were made.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
As a precaution, we recommend you activate a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, or periodically request a credit report to look for potential irregularities and ensure that no new accounts have been activated in your name. Each agency has an automated fraud alert process. If you activate a fraud alert, the agency you contact will notify the other two agencies so that those agencies also can place fraud alerts on your accounts. In addition, each agency will provide you a copy of your credit report at no cost. The contact information for the credit agencies is as follows:<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Equifax – (800) 525-6285 – www.equifax.com<br/><br />
Experian – (888) 397-3742 – www.experian.com<br/><br />
Trans Union – (800) 680-7289 – www.transunion.com<br/> <br />
<br/><br />
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you. Please know that we take the protection of your identity seriously. We are confident that the changes we have made since this file was posted have made all students and alumni safer.<br/><br />
<br/><br />
If you should have any questions or comments, please contact us by calling 1(888) 882-7331 or by emailing studentservices-assist@columbia.edu .<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Sincerely,<br/><br />
<br/><br />
Scott Wright<br/><br />
Vice President<br/><br />
Student Auxiliary & Business Services<br/><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
[[Category:Scandals]]</div>Notsven